Oil find near Gatwick could yield 9bn barrels

New estimates on the amount of oil contained in a discovery close to Gatwick airport suggest there could be over 9bn barrels in place.

The upbeat review of the Horse Hill licence, located in the Weald Basin of southern England, comes from the oil reservoir consultant Nutech.

This followed another positive report a fortnight ago from oilfield services heavyweight Schlumberger, but the 9.2bn figure is a long way from the 100bn barrels boasted aboutinitially.

David Lenigas, the chairman of UK Oil & Gas Investments, which last week raised £6m from a share placing, said the Nutech report was encouraging: “The Weald Basin now has significant value to the UK. Lots of work still to do though.”

Shares in UKOG rose 200% when the first well announcement was made but the company later backtracked on its claims of finding a field with world class potential.